Former UFC stars set to headline Bellator’s first LA card
Bellator will turn to its biggest stars to headline the organization’s first event in Los Angeles.
Tito Ortiz will fight Chael Sonnen in the main event of Bellator 170 at The Forum in Inglewood, California on Jan. 21. Bellator president Scott Coker announced the light heavyweight bout during a Tuesday night appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Ortiz and Sonnen both made their names during lengthy stints in the UFC. Ortiz, the 41-year-old former UFC light heavyweight champion and a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame, signed with Bellator in 2014 and won his first two fights before he was submitted by champion Liam McGeary in September 2015.
Sonnen, 39, fought for the UFC middleweight title twice, losing both times to Anderson Silva, and became one of the organization’s most popular fighters through his ability to promote himself with some of the best trash talk in the sport.
He was suspended for two years for a positive drug test in 2014 and was granted his release from the UFC upon his reinstatement this year. Sonnen’s last fight was a first-round knockout loss to Rashad Evans in November 2013.
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